Business travellers cut down on tours as operators jack up fare by 6-10 pc

Earlier, the vacation rush used to help the operators to break even, but with the vacations over and the hike in diesel prices, they have increased the fares.

Feeling the pinch, most of the regular business travellers have either switched over to railway or have reduced the frequency of their travel.

Pravin Thakar, a city-based tour operator said: "There has been a cut of nearly 20 to 30 per cent in the number of commuters who travel by bus."

"There are people who go to Mumbai in the night and come back here next morning after completing a day's work five to six times a month. Now with the rise in fares, they have reduced the number of visits. Now, I club my visits to one region and finish more than one tasks on way," said L R Gupta, who often goes to Mumbai and beyond for his wholesale business of fire-crackers.

Iqbalbhai Shaikh, a wholesale fruit dealer at Naroda Fruit Market, who keeps going to places like Nasik and Ratnagiri for business related work, said he has cut down on his trips from four-five times a month to three times. It may be noted that while the state Government has reduced the Value Added Tax on diesel and other fuels, the fact remains that the fares have not been reduced.

While the GSRTC has jacked up fares with effect from midnight of June 23, several private airlines have ground their flights to various destinations from here due to a hike in tax on aviation turbine fuel. The GSRTC hike is in the range of Re one to Rs seven on different ticket charges.